Paper Mario: The Crystal of Infinity/Plot
This is a summary of Paper Mario: The Crystal of Infinity's plot. Plot Prologue: Infinite Possibilities Once upon a time, Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi, and Toadsworth went on a trip to Eterna Island, a vast island rumored to have been the site of an ancient civilization long ago. Apparently, some powerful monster had threatened to destroy the island and later the world, but he was sealed away by his own power source, the Crystal of Infinity, which was then locked away beneath the island. It seemed nothing could go wrong on this peaceful vacation to the island's capital, Eternopolis. However, this was not to be so. Mario soon ran into an old Goomba professor being harassed by a squid. With the help of Goomblake, the professor's student, Mario defeated this squid creature, and it fled the scene. The professor introduced himself as McGoom, a leading archaeologist studying the lore of the Crystal of Infinity. The squid who had been harassing him seemed to be an apparition of the ancient demon Leviathus, who had been sealed away long ago. The seal on him was weakening, and Mario had to collect the Eternity Instruments that unlocked the way to the Crystal of Infinity so that Leviathus could be sealed again. Mario and Goomblake agreed to this adventure, and McGoom gave them the Ancient Compass, which, when placed on the pedestal in the Mystery Ruins below Eternopolis, would give Mario directions to an Eternity Instrument. Mario and Goomblake entered the Mystery Ruins, found out the location of the first Eternity Instrument, and set off on their adventure. Chapter 1: A Pernicious Plant Problem The first Eternity Instrument, the Spirit Guitar, was located somewhere in Paradise Pass. Mario and Goomblake set off to Paradise Pass, took down Leviathus' underling Lt. Brew, and found a town called Viridian. In Viridian, they learned that the mayor knew the exact location of the Spirit Guitar. However, the mayor would only reveal this if Mario and Goomblake were to go to Fuzzy's Cavern and find his daughter a Dawn Stone and a Dusk Stone. The duo journeyed down to Fuzzy's Cavern, where, true to its name, there were lots of Fuzzies, ruled by King Fuzz, who had to be defeated to leave the cave. Mario and Goomblake gave the Dawn Stone and Dusk Stone to the mayor's daughter Kelly, who was so thrilled that she immediately joined Mario's team out of gratitude. The mayor then revealed that the Spirit Guitar was in the Abandoned Outpost, a fortress from the war against Leviathus that had been overgrown by the vicious Don Piranha, and opened the gateway to the fort. Mario and co journeyed to the Abandoned Outpost, overcame its dangers, and defeated Don Piranha, obtaining their first Eternity Instrument. Chapter 2: Two Sides to Every Story Mario and crew's next destination was Mt. Coldsmolder, where the next Eternity Instrument, the Echo Flute, was hidden. They journeyed across Rugged Road, tusseled with a Burn Bones, and eventually found Mt. Coldsmolder, which, oddly for a mountain with cold in its name, was the home of many lava flows. Atop the mountain, Mario and the gang found the answer to this question: Half the mountain was full of lava, the other full of snow. They also found a village called Coldsmolder Village, which was situated on the border of the mountain's lava and ice sides. However, the inhabitants on the lava side refused to speak to those on the ice side, and vice versa. Mario and co did find one local on the lava side, a Draglet named Ash, who disliked the literal cold war, but he seemed powerless to stop it. However, he did know what might do the trick: Retrieving the Echo Flute from Coldsmolder Caverns. With Ash's help, Mario and the gang were able to reach the icy side of the mountain and find the only entrance to Coldsmolder Caverns. They traversed its interior, defeated a two-headed dragon with the two names Spicy and Icy, and found its treasure, the Echo Flute. Chapter 3: A Ghost of a Chance Next up on the list was Oddity City, a town renowned for two things: A world-famous theater and many paranormal happenings. As odd as these happenings were, Oddity City was the location of the third Eternity Instrument, the Thundering Drums, so it had to be visited. Mario and crew went through the depths of Farfetched Forest and eventually found Oddity City at last. In Oddity City, Mario was swept up into performing a play at the local theater, which seemed rather innocent. However, Mario then met a Tanooki-tailed Boo named Tabooki, who seemed to think that the town's paranormal happenings were originating from the theater.